Suitable Arrangements
by Metarie
Summary: Gaila is practically hopping with excitement. "But you have to act surprised when it happens, okay? Otherwise everything will be ruined." Spock/Uhura, Scotty/Gaila.


**_Disclaimer: Do I really need to keep saying I don't own this stuff? If I did, I promise you I wouldn't be posting these stories all over the internet. And I wouldn't have to pay off a bunch of college loans._**

**_A/N: This is a Christmas present for my dear friend, Mattie (aka kaleidoscope heart) who has been sick lately and without internet since September. She demanded that I write her a Spock/Uhura story, so here it is._**

* * *

Nyota is about to turn in for the night when her door chimes.

"Who is it?" she asks curiously.

"It's me," says Gaila. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," says Nyota, wondering if something is wrong.

The door opens and Gaila rushes in, looking antsy.

"Hey," she says, then she sees Nyota in her pajamas. "Oh, sorry, were you about to go to sleep?"

"It's fine," says Nyota, waving her hand dismissively. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"Um," says Gaila. "No, it can wait." She turns to leave, but Nyota stops her.

"Gaila, what's going on?"

The Orion chews on her lip, contemplatively. "Oh, it's just..." She stops again, then, quite unexpectedly, she throws her arms around Nyota in a fierce hug, unable to keep herself from squealing. "I'm so happy for you, you have no idea!"

Nyota is lost. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Gaila pulls away to look at her former roommate. "I can't tell you."

_"What?"_

"You'll be mad if I tell you."

"Then why did you come here and tell me you have something you can't tell me?" Nyota asks, trying not to be too annoyed.

"Oh, because I just couldn't help myself!" says Gaila, hugging her again. "I can't believe it! It's almost like... we're grown-ups, or something!"

Nyota manages to extricate herself from Gaila's embrace and pull away warily. "Okay, Gaila, you need to tell me what is going on here."

"I can't. I'm going to be in so much trouble if I tell you."

"You're going to be in a lot more trouble if you don't."

"Oh, all right." Gaila is practically hopping with excitement - this is usually how it went. Gaila is terrible at keeping secrets, and all she needs is a little prompting when it comes to spilling them. "But you have to act surprised when it happens, okay? Otherwise everything will be ruined."

"Ruined? What - "

_"Spock's going to propose!"_ Gaila claps her hand over her mouth, eyes shining with glee.

Nyota stares at her. For some reason, this is not what she had expected to hear. "What?"

"Yes! He so is. Victoria said she and Sulu talked to Christine, who said she'd seen Spock at a bazaar on the last planet we stopped at and he was looking at rings!"

"Oh. Is that all? God, Gaila, don't scare me like that." Nyota is visibly relieved.

"What? What are you talking about? He was ring shopping! That's the Terran tradition, right? I'm not getting it wrong?"

"No, you've got it right, but I highly doubt that's what Spock was doing."

"Then what was he doing looking at rings? Picking something out to keep his mistress happy?"

Nyota shoots her a dirty look. "Of course not. Who knows what he was doing? I'm sure there's a perfectly logical reason for it. There always is."

"Yeah! Like, maybe he was picking something out for you to give you when he asks you to marry him!"

"Gaila... if Spock was going to propose, I would already know about it."

Gaila rolls her eyes. "Fine. Ask him about it then! No, wait," Gaila says, grabbing Nyota's arm. "Don't ask him. Then everyone will know I told you."

Nyota isn't sure how it could be traced back to Gaila, but it hardly matters. Nyota has better things to do than waste time speculating about whether or not Spock wants to marry her. Like sleep, for instance.

"Gaila, don't worry about it," Nyota tells her. "I'm sure it'll all work out fine. I will see you tomorrow, all right? Good night."

Gaila obviously wants to continue discussing the issue, but she nods. "Fine. Good night." She leaves.

Nyota smiles. Gaila never shuts up about stuff like this until she's talked about it at sufficient length. _Poor Scotty,_ Nyota thinks, as she climbs into bed.

--

The exchange with Gaila doesn't cross Nyota's mind again until a week later, when Gaila corners her at lunch. She's in the middle of reading a fascinating linguistics paper when Gaila suddenly appears, slamming her hands down on the table, making Nyota jump.

"Well?" Gaila asks, excitedly.

"Well what?"

"Oh _come on!"_ Gaila sits down and scoots her chair as close to Nyota as is socially acceptable. "You _know_ what!"

Nyota stares at her blankly.

"This is so like you," Gaila says, frustrated. "Pretending like nothing happened when your best friend asks you about it, when you're actually _engaged_- "Gaila whispers this last word, but it's still somehow just as loud as all the others.

"Oh... oh. That. We aren't engaged," says Nyota. "We didn't even talk about it."

Gaila's jaw drops. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Gaila? What are we doing over here?" Scotty, creature of habit, walks up to the table, looking confused to find Gaila at a table other than the one they usually share during meals.

_"We_ are trying to figure out why Spock and Nyota aren't engaged yet."

Scotty groans - clearly he is no stranger to this topic of discussion. "Oh, come on lassie, can't we just leave it alone?"

"No I can't! Don't_come on lassie_ me, this is a big deal!"

"Aye, for _them,_ maybe! It's none of our business! I'm very sorry, Lieutenant," he says, apologetically. "We were just leaving..."

Gaila glares at him, stubbornly ignoring his attempts to drag her out of her chair. "Nyota, you have to tell me the instant it happens," she orders sternly. "And don't think it won't. I have a sense about these things."

"Really?" asks Nyota, innocently. "So can you give me a general idea of when you and Scotty are getting engaged?"

Gaila looks at Scotty, an expression of intrigue dawning on her face. "Hmm," she says.

Scotty looks nervous.

"I mean, you two have been together for a while now," says Nyota, shrugging. "I was just wondering. It's never to early to start thinking about wedding gifts."

"That's a good question," says Gaila, thoughtfully. She gets up and grabs Scotty's hand. "We'll see you later," she says to Nyota, pulling a protesting Scotty off to their usual table.

As they're leaving, Spock approaches with a bowl of plomeek soup for him and a cup of tea for her.

"Greetings," he says, sitting down. He hands her her tea.

"Thank you," she says, leaning over to give him a kiss.

"I hope your friend did not leave because I was joining you," says Spock. This is his term for Gaila, who seems to constantly bemuse him. "If the two of you have matters to discuss, I am sure her presence would not bother me."

Nyota laughs. "That's very thoughtful of you," she says. "No, she realized she had some matters to discuss with her boyfriend."

Spock nods. "Very well," he says, and he starts eating his soup.

Normally, they would continue the majority of their meal in companionable silence, each reading their own various materials of interest.

"They're going to talk about marriage," she blurts out, though she knows Spock doesn't care about crew gossip.

Spock continues eating his soup. "Their relationship has lasted for some time without considerable incident," he says neutrally. "Such an arrangement may be desirable in their situation."

To her annoyance, Nyota's heart skips a beat. "Oh?"

Spock looks at her, apparently surprised this conversation has lasted this long. "Yes."

"We've been together longer than they have," says Nyota.

Spock's spoon hesitates briefly somewhere between the bowl and his mouth. "You are correct," he says.

"Right," says Nyota, after a moment. She pulls her PADD back towards her and pulls the linguistics paper back up, punching the touchpad a little harder than is strictly necessary.

Spock puts his spoon down. "You are irritated with me," he says.

Nyota sighs. "No, Spock, I'm irritated with myself."

"May I ask why?"

"Gaila's gotten it into her head that you're going to propose to me sometime in the near future."

"How does this cause your feelings of irritation with yourself?"

"Because for a brief second there, I was thinking maybe she was right."

Spock doesn't immediately answer, so Nyota finds herself babbling.

"I'm not saying I want it to happen or anything. And I'm not saying I _don't_want it to happen... I mean, I wouldn't mind if it happened at some point. But I'm not in a hurry." She takes a deep breath. "So, if you don't mind, I think it would be okay if we just dropped it and ate our soup and drank our tea and didn't worry about it." She smiles weakly.

"I did visit a market on Catullan in the interest of finding a suitable ring for you," says Spock. "It was my desire to propose to you the idea of marriage in due course."

Nyota stares at him. "Oh," she says.

"But if you do not wish to enter into such an arrangement at this time, I understand perfectly."

"No, Spock, it's okay," she says. "I, um... no, it's fine. Actually, I think it sounds great."

"Great?"

"Yes." She can't keep herself from smiling, now. "I've known I've wanted to spend the rest of my life with you for a long time now," she says, putting her hand on top of his. "I knew it would happen sooner or later. And I'm okay with sooner."

"Am I correct in assuming, then, that your answer to my query would be yes?"

"Of course," she says.

"I do not have a ring to give you," he says. "I understand that this is the tradition - "

"I don't need a ring," she interrupts, leaning forward and brushing her lips against his. He responds readily. "I just need you."

"I find this response acceptable," Spock says, and she leans her forehead against his happily.


End file.
